Tim McAvoy, a Phoenixville, PA, native, graduated from Penn State in 1980, worked 18 years with GlaxoSmithKline and the past 10 years with Marvin and Palmer Associates—an institutional money management firm.
Tim was introduced to platform tennis by his mother, 1992 Hall of Fame inductee Lucie Bel, and has been playing competitively since 1982. Tim has been a member of the Region III men's President's Cup team over the past 25 years and is a former Men's 45 and Mixed Doubles National Champion, with John Adams and Diane Tucker, respectively.
Tim served on the APTA Board from 1999- 2006, was a founding member of the Platform Tennis Museum and Hall of Fame Foundation and currently serves on the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame Selection Committee. Tim also serves on the Philadelphia MAPTA Board.
Tim and his wife Nancy, have four children: Tom (20), Jen (18), Lindsay (16) and Wil (14) [...]
Hall of Fame inductee, Paul G. Sullivan, died on February 4, 2009 in Vero Beach, Florida, at the age of 82.
He was born in Brooklyn, lived most of his life in Scarsdale, New York, and in recent years, Vero Beach. He attended Princeton University, and served in the Navy as a radioman in Annapolis. His work career spanned over 50 years, first with Hayden Stone and then with Smith Barney.
Paul served for many years on the Board of the American Platform Tennis Association, and was APTA President from 1963-1965. He was also President of the Fox Meadow Tennis Club from 1967-1969.
During the 50's and 60's, he was a major contributor to the activities of the APTA serving, among other things, as Chairman of many National Championships and as Chairman of the APTA Umpires Committee. He was also a USTA umpire, and served in that capacity at the U.S. Open and at Wimbledon.
He was instru[...]
Jonathan Lubow
Hometown: Randolph, NJ
Spouse and Kids: Wife: Jessica. Daughters: Caroline (8), Katie (5)
Hobbies: Gardening, Golf, Skiing
Personal Note: Wrote Options on Futures: New Trading Strategies
Paddle used: The National
Favorite shot: The "Dagger"
Sports experience: Played tennis in high school
Team accomplishments: 2006 and 2009 NJ State champs, 2008 Chicago Charities champions
Platform tennis partner history: "I used to play with Chip Dyer. He moved to Colorado four years ago and I hooked up with Steve."
How do you train for the season: "I do not train. I try to play all year round. Night paddle in summer is great."
Nutritional regimen, vitamins, stretching, etc.: "I drink Gatorade and I never stretch."
When did you start playing platform tennis? "After College. Charlie Stevens (Paddle Legend) got me into the game."
What do you like most about platform [...]
Women's 40+ and 60+ National Championships
The weather was spring-like and the ladies showed there was still a lot of spring in their step as they competed for the Women's 40+ and 60+ National titles.
Helen Garrett and Sandy Simmers once again claimed the Women's 60+ National title despite strong competition from some new teams. This was their 5th gold in a row and their 6th as a team. In a rematch of last year's final, they defeated Louise Cash and Mary Fenton by the score of 6-2, 6-7, 6-4. Other winners were: Winnie Hatch and Courtia Worth, 3rd place; Ginny Sniatkowski and Ruth Weil, 5th place and Sharon Hummers and Hope Kerr, Last Chance winners.
An exceptionally strong field in the Women's 40+ event led to some exciting matches. Continuing their title run, Cynthia Dardis and Amy Shay defeated Bobo Delaney and Tonia Mangan to win their first National title. Liz Jaffe and Sue T[...]
Deception can be an effective weapon in any paddle player's arsenal. Throwing up an offensive lob when your opponents are on top of the net or hitting a drop shot off a hard drive will keep them off balance and lead to a lot of free points. Here you will learn how and when to attempt a Dagger, an extremely low percentage shot that, if executed successfully, could win the point outright and get some laughs in the process.
The Dagger is a shot off the end of the paddle that should only be tried under certain circumstances.
The Set-up
A good spin overhead from an offensive position backs one of your opponents deep into his corner and puts him on the defensive. All he can do now is hope to dig the ball out and keep the point going. A weak floater towards the middle of the court is the perfect setup for a Dagger attempt.
The Reaction
The other team sees that they have hit a weak sh[...]
In a celebration held at the Women's 40/60 National Championships on February 11, 2009, Winnie Hatch and Sharon Hummers were inducted into the Platform Tennis Hall of Fame, in recognition of their outstanding achievements both on and off the court over many years.
The induction presentations were delivered by Steve Baird for Edwina "Winnie" Worth Hatch and by Bob Brown for Sharon K. Hummers, before a large, enthusiastic, and appreciative audience at the Canoe Brook Country Club in Summit, New Jersey. Each honoree acknowledged the election with thanks, and other comments of adoration followed by several relatives and friends.
The induction of Mansager and Goodspeed, the 2008 Hall of Fame Inductees, took place on January 17, 2009 at the Cincinnati Midwesterns. Todd Ward explained why:
The Cincinnati Midwesterns played out the way most Midwesterns have gone for the last several y[...]
PTM reported from Cincinnati:
Mary Doten and Susie Keane Reach High to Capture Third National Title
In some ways, the Nationals is like any other tournament. There are draws, favors, reunions with friends, good lunches and the highs and lows of personal performance. But the Nationals is also something very different. There are temporary courts and a camera tower. Every hut has monitors and extra balls. There's a merchandise tent, lots of sponsor banners and multiple parties. A masseuse works tired muscles. The finals play to big crowds. And at the Nationals the "thrill of victory" and the "agony of defeat" are just that much more intense.
The bulk of the women's tournament was played Friday. Play started at 8 a.m. and ran reasonably on time, with the last quarters finishing up just before 6 p.m. The weather was warm and windy like Thursday, with overcast skies.
All the [...]
Region IV Women's team included Kathy Allen, Janet Mazzola, Ann Turner, Kelly Fischer, Tammy Simone, Sandra Odenbach, Chrissy Johnston, Lynn Thompson, Nancy Budde, and Lindy Ward
Region I Men's was captained by Mike Cochrane and included Juan Arraya, Mark Ruppert, Ray Crosta, Mark Parsons, Drew Broderick, Guy Moore, Scott Slobin, Patricio Misitrano, Chris Fitzgerald, Brian O'Connor, and Mike Stern (not pictured at left)
Teaching pro Christi Hayes had arrived in Ross, CA from Pittsburgh in 2007 and had added energy to the program by starting a junior program and league play. By 2009 Region VI was able to send a full women's team to the President's Cup.
You are excused if you don't know the answer to that question. The President's Cup has been a part of the APTA Nationals for years, and is a hotly contested event, but there are few people outside of die-hard tournament players who know what it is. It was established in 1978, when the sport was becoming professionalized, as a national competition for amateur players. It's success kept it going after money left the sport.
Each region fields a set of teams based in large part on President's Cup Qualifier points accumulated at regional tournaments. Players seeded in the top 8 nationally may not participate but otherwise each region fields the strongest players it can. Sometimes a region cannot field a complete team and players are borrowed from other regions to fill out the roster, or two regions may combine to form one team.
The President's Cup is a grueling day long round robin even[...]
As I finish up my last year as President of the APTA, I realize how lucky I was that John Horine approached me seven years ago and asked me to consider succeeding him.
These last years have flown by. Recently, one of my friends on my league team asked me if I was glad to finally be done. I quickly responded with a resounding "no." I am sad my term is over. I have loved almost every minute of it.
During my first year serving as a shadow Board member, I participated without an "official" vote in all Board activities, although John always encouraged me to voice my opinions. I'm sure he did not realize how little a concern this was!
The first year of my presidency was a year of transition. Term limits had been enacted and the entire Board was being replaced over a three to four-year period. In considering who my vice president would be, the name that came to mind immediately was Sco[...]
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